


Differences

by meyari



Series: Hospitality [13]
Category: DCU - Comicverse, Smallville
Genre: Corporal Punishment, Harems, Multi, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-08
Updated: 2011-06-08
Packaged: 2017-10-20 06:18:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/209667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meyari/pseuds/meyari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Donna gets mildly lost in the Manor and then finds herself completely adrift in the differences between Amazonian and mainland cultures.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Differences

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"Which way was it?" Donna mused as she left the strange bathroom.

Despite the similar functions involved in such things, the bathroom was different enough that it had taken Donna several minutes to work out exactly which items did what. Having the toilet in the same room with the sink seemed decidedly odd to her after the way that Themyscira kept those functions separated. The sink had been a confusing wonder of its own. Donna had spent entirely too long working out that the red crystal on the tap set how warm the water was and the blue crystal set how much water came out. She was grateful that there were ample towels in the room because she'd made a bit of a mess with the splashing water.

Frankly, the entire Manor's layout and design was so different from what she was used to back on Themyscira that she found it hard to figure out where to go. It seemed so odd that the entire population of Lord Bruce's household lived in one huge house rather than spread out in smaller, more intimate houses. Not to mention the fact that Donna wasn't used to the woodwork and the doors all looking the same; it made it almost impossible for her to figure out where she was and where she needed to go.

"I think… the library was this way," Donna mused as she considered her options.

She headed to the right, wishing for a servant to come by so that she could ask for directions. It could have been left. Donna remembered there being a large bouquet of flowers before she entered the bathroom with its strange fixtures but when she exited there were bouquets in both directions. As she walked, Donna counted doors, looking for the seventh on the left as if she went in the right direction that would be the library.

"Okay," Donna said when she opened the door and found herself looking out at the garden instead of looking into the library. "Not right. Must have been left."

It was tempting to go outside and explore the garden for all the things that Dick had pointed out the other day, but Donna didn't want to leave Cassie alone with the men for too long. She was more than capable of taking care of herself but Cassie was Donna's responsibility while they were there so she headed back into the manor and headed back up the hallway, once again counting doors.

"Is there a problem, Princess Donna?"

Alfred's voice startled Donna as she hadn't heard him coming. She was a little surprised that he'd managed to sneak up on her but Alfred seemed to be much more than a mere servant. He smiled politely at her and she warmly smiled back. Truly, he was anything but a servant from the way Lord Bruce and the others dealt with him. It was nice to have him there to point her in the right direction.

"I wasn't sure which way it was to the library, actually," Donna admitted with little embarrassment. "I'm not used to your architecture, I'm afraid."

"The library is behind the double doors up on the right, your Highness," Alfred said with an encouraging gesture.

"Thank you," Donna replied. "I imagine I'll figure it out eventually but I appreciate the help."

"It is my honor, Princess Donna," Alfred replied.

Alfred calmly escorted Donna to the library, explaining in an apparently idle way how the manor was arranged with guest rooms on the second and third floors and various meeting rooms on the main floor. The wings were for guests or members of the family, depending on which wing it was, and the harem had their own wing, though that was of course much smaller than the other wings so that the slaves would be sheltered from attack or observation as was proper.

She thought that the explanation was more than just chatting, given the serious look in Alfred’s eyes. It seemed more like telling her things that she would need to know in the future, which reminded her of Diana’s hopes to have Donna stay here somehow once Lionel was dealt with. That only made her more nervous than she already was about the whole situation. Donna wasn't at all sure that she wanted to live here, no matter how good and kind the people were.

Because of her worries, it was easier to head over to Diana than it was to head back to the younger people gathered by the couch still holding Dick and Roy. The elder nobility had gathered close to the fireplace on the far side of the room. Steve smiled at her as she walked up but Diana was deeply involved in her discussion with Lord Bruce and didn’t appear to notice that Donna was there.

"I am still unclear as to why such a thing is required," Diana said in the voice she used for offenses against all logic and sanity. "The boy did nothing to warrant being so harshly punished."

"Unfortunately," Lord Bruce sighed, "it is required and according to our laws and customs what he did does warrant it. Dick is a gypsy, one of the Roma. They're outlawed and all members who are not slaves are to be executed on sight. By wandering, he put himself into the category of a not truly enslaved Roma, which implies that he's to be killed. Also, by wandering he implied that I do not have full control over my household, which means that my other slaves and servants are at risk from King Lionel's court. Add that to the fact that it shows great disrespect to Lord Oliver and his household for one of my slaves to be attempting to secretly contact one of his people, no matter how obvious the attraction is between the boys, and it's a huge problem that has to be dealt with firmly."

"So you'll beat him in public," Diana asked with such obvious offense that Clark fidgeted and Donna was horrified.

"If I don't wish to have my household destroyed and the lordship assigned to one of King Lionel's cronies, yes," Lord Bruce said implacably. "I will. I have little choice in the matter. There has to be a public punishment. It will have to be at Court, as everyone knows about it. And even if I were to give Dick away, he would still need to be publically punished for his behavior or everyone would assume that he's not properly broken and would take advantage of him or kill him outright. It has to happen for everyone's sake."

Donna shivered at the thought of bright, cheerful Dick being bound and beaten in front of the vultures that inhabited Lionel's court. She looked over at the group of younger heroes. Dick was sitting in Roy's lap, smiling and laughing at something that Jason was saying. Roy looked as though he knew exactly what was coming. He held Dick as though he was made of glass and liable to shatter at any moment. Despite Dick's open smile, Donna thought that he was entirely too aware of what was coming too. The bright smile had a slightly brittle feel to it now that Donna was looking.

"I hope you're not going to beat him the way you did Jason," Lord Oliver murmured, recapturing Donna's attention.

"No, Dick doesn't tolerate beatings the way Jason does," Lord Bruce sighs. "With Jason it's always a contest of wills. Dick… Dick doesn't enjoy pain, doesn't deal with at as well. He can handle it if he has to but it's purely pain for him."

"Until it's over," Clark chuckled. "Then he's aroused at being on display and giving his master what he wants. Dick thrives best when he's appreciated and petted. Even punishments become pleasure for him if he's pleasing his master."

"Wow," Steve chuckled, though the chuckle came out somewhat strained. "Quite the collection of boys you've got, Lord Bruce."

"I still wonder why you never have girls in the harem," Lord Oliver said in a blatant conversational switch that everyone seemed to appreciate by their eager expressions. "You know the way people gossip about that."

"I fail to see that it's their business," Lord Bruce replied in just teasing enough of a tone of voice for Donna to realize that they teased each other about this all the time. "At least I don't have people agog at the fact that I haven't fathered a whole army of children in my harem."

Lord Oliver spluttered while Dinah laughed and grinned through her veils at him. Rather than stay with the older nobility, Donna headed back over to the younger group. They quieted when Donna arrived, Roy studying her as if he was aware that she knew what was coming at Dick. Maybe he did know. Donna was fairly certain that it showed in her body language and expression.

"What's wrong?" Cassie murmured.

"Just… a beating?" Donna looked at Dick who sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It's not that big of a deal," Dick said dismissively. "I'm not going to be beaten the way that Jason would be and I know that Lord Bruce won't do anything too damaging to me. It's considered bad taste to scar a slave that's as beautiful and compliant as I am."

"And modest," Jason drawled with a grin that was downright wicked. "Don't forget how modest you are."

That made Tim and Jason both laugh, which made Dick huff at them. Donna would have accepted the humor as more than an attempt to calm her down and distract her from the future if Dick's hands hadn't started shaking where they rested on Roy's arms. Between his quiet tremors and Roy's almost sick expression, Donna was pretty sure that the beating wasn't going to be anything to laugh about.

It seemed so wrong that Dick would be punished for acting on a perfectly normal attraction. Even given the strange habits of the people on the mainland, it was obvious how much Dick and Roy liked each other. Donna had to wonder what she would have done if she had been in Dick or Roy's position. To be so enamored with someone and unable to see them freely seemed like a horrible thing to her.

"Is there any way we can prevent it?" Donna asked. "Seriously, you have to be beaten because of King Lionel's stupid policies and rapacious behavior. Can we get rid of him before it's time for your beating?"

"Maybe," Tim said thoughtfully. "I know that the others are working on something. Dick was quite severely wounded so we've got several days to a week before the beating has to happen, even with Steph's abilities as a healer. If Lord Bruce hears back from the Oracle and we find out exactly what King Lionel is up to in that timeframe, we might be able to take him down before Dick has to be punished."

"Nothing like a timeline to make things interesting," Roy sighed. His arms tightened around Dick's waist enough that Dick squirmed and poked him.

"We'll figure it out," Dick declared. "I've been beaten before, Princess Donna. I know what to expect. I know everyone thinks that I can't handle this but frankly I can. It'll hurt and I'll probably end up crying, but by the time the punishment is over and Lord Bruce is taking care of me I'll be turned on. It's how my body works. I don't like the pain as it happens but afterwards I'm horny as hell. Seriously, don't worry about it too much. Lord Bruce would never hurt me too badly."

Donna nodded that she understood even though she wasn't sure she should believe Dick's words. Either way, she fully intended to keep a very close rein on Cassie's movements while they were here. There was no way that she'd allow Cassie to be punished for something that was completely unremarkable for an Amazon, no matter what the laws of this land said.


End file.
